In Motion: The Experience of Travel

In this extraordinarily wide-ranging, insightful, mind-opening book, Tony Hiss delves into the question of why travel sometimes (but only sometimes) feels remarkably fresh and exhilarating, and illustrates how we can avail ourselves of this seemingly elusive quality—which he calls “deep travel”—on an everyday basis.

The sensation of deep travel can overtake us, Hiss argues, whenever we tap into a sophisticated, wide-awake awareness we all possess. With a wealth of examples—from human ancestors walking two-legged for the first time to astronauts walking on the moon—Hiss identifies and rescues this capacity, and sets out simple techniques for accessing it no matter how near or far your travel takes you. But this is only a jumping-off point for an original and penetrating explanation of how deep travel radically alters our perception of time by placing us in an “extended present,” and how it acts as an “open sesame” to enlarge and enrich the world around us, immeasurably and irreversibly.

Whether travel takes you around the corner or on daily commutes, on wilderness canoe trips or international flights—once you’ve read In Motion, no journey will ever feel the same.